Many European lives saved by Hawaiians

I have already mentioned that the Hawaiians were deemed ever valuable due to thier canoeing and swimming skills, but I found out a little more details of how important those skills were. I guess the French were considered top notch in canoe handling, but they weren't so keen on swimming, so if a canoe flipped, both the men and the equipment were lost. The Hudson Bay Co stationed a Sandwich Islander on every French canoe as a life-guard more or less. Not only were they able to save the floundering Frenchmen, but they often dove to rescue the equipment too.

Many Hawaiian canoes often had sails which made them great candidates for deckhands on the European and American ships. There could navigate both open water and inland rivers. Photo

Source: Forgotten Hawaiians